Distortion
by ManOfChocolate
Summary: After much contemplation and convincing, Frisk and their friends return to the depths of Alphys' lab. There, they tap into the font of power that is human determination, desperate to make a miracle happen once more. The results may not be to their liking.
1. Extraction

**A/N: Crossposting from AO3 as usual. Yet another request, thought this time to another friend. The idea was "bring back Chara, but mess it up". Oddly enough, this fic started out as a comedy, but as you can clearly see, somehow that disappeared along the way. If you found it, please let me know! I also would like to assure everyone that the goop is not dark chocolate. Reasonably sure.**

 **Also, YES! Multi-chapter, as in, there will be more!**

* * *

There were close to a million ways this could have gone wrong.

The possibilities were just endless. The Amalgamates had been clear proof that toying with human Determination, in all of its forms, was a horrifyingly dangerous gamble, to the point where loss of life would have been considered an enviable and quick end. There were simply too many variables, too many opportunities for just about anything to go wrong. It also didn't help that the tech being used was wildly experimental at very best.

And yet here they were about to start everything all over again.

"W-what are the numbers, Sans?" Alphys asked, her tone trembling with nerve.

"everything's stable." Sans confirmed. "how're you holding up, kiddo?"

Frisk had every inclination to say they were perfectly fine, but that would have been the most gigantic lie they have ever uttered. The cold air of the old lab made them shiver, especially since they lacked their trusty sweater. The human scratched the back of their head, trying to instill some sort of calmness into them. They tried their best not to take note of the several rows of wires with little suction cups plastered all over their arms, legs and some under the shirt they kept for some semblance of warmth and modesty. Needle-ends were at one point suggested, but summarily declined.

Sure, the entire procedure had been their idea, but it did come with several rounds of second-guessing. Even after the hundredth 'yes', Frisk still hoped they'd never ask again, lest they give a completely different answer.

"don't worry frisk, anything goes zap and i'll cut the cords that instant." the skeleton assured, though his poor choice of words betrayed his own nervousness in the matter.

The whole situation was only marginally improved by all their friends beings present. Toriel was wringing her hands in trepidation and worry, constantly taking a step towards Frisk to try and relax them, or make the procedure more comfortable. Asgore continued to bravely hold her back each and every time, risking several fireballs to the face by doing so. Undyne and Papyrus were both there to assist with whatever they could, both of them behaving unusually calmly. The former Royal Guard was obviously a gigantic support in keeping Alphys even halfway functional in this den of bad memories, but to Frisk's surprise, even the boisterous skeleton was unexpectedly reserved, though in no ways calm.

The most surprising addition had to have been Asri-FLOWEY, standing by in a patch of soil and flowers. His inner state of being was significantly harder to read than the rest of them, but for the moment being, they certainly did seem interested, curious even. Frisk wasn't ready to bet that he would be concerned about their well-being, but did hope that at least some part of the flower remembered the brief time he got to feel love again.

And of course, there was the guest of honor.

Frisk's head has been pounding from the moment they woke up. Excitement, worry, anger, hope and many other emotions raced through their mind, rendering the human inoperable for most of the day up till now. The unexpected weight in their mind was always there, looming over their thoughts like some kind of specter of days long past. The human had some hope that Asriel's brief bout as God of Hyperdeath would have some influence on them, but other than the titanic headache for days on end, nothing changed. The presence, the face, the eyes, the name; they all continued to burn within them, never fading into complete obscurity.

Chara.

"Scared?" Frisk mouthed. They never really figured out the proper way to communicate with their 'passenger', but they found more comfort in voicing what they wanted, rather than leaving it to jumbled thoughts.

"No." the thought, voice, or psychic push arrived strong as a bullet, making Frisk wince. "What would I be afraid of? Dying?" Chara allowed herself a bit of dry humor, lowering her 'voice' as well. She paused for a short while. "It's weird... to see myself over there."

Frisk turned slightly, gazing at the rather alarming form of the Determination Extractor Mk. 2 Prototype. Images of thorns, vines and claws briefly filled their mind, forcefully shoved aside by Chara mere seconds later. This was not the time to get anxious about the past, although the sensation of rearranging thoughts like that was something the child has never really gotten used to. In the maw of the almost-skeletal machine lay a half-open coffin, its contents carefully hidden from onlookers. Even Sans and Alphys refrained from looking into it much, when they connected the wiring on Frisk to the machine.

"Just a little longer. You'll be fine." Frisk assured, clenching their hand. They could feel a twinge of Chara's suspicion in their hope, but the discussion remained unspoken.

Alphys continued to work the controls, being extra careful to make sure every bit of auxiliary needs were satisfied. While power especially had never been an issue, seeing how the lab was directly connected to the central hub of the CORE, she didn't want to leave anything to chance. If anything was to come out of this, the last thing she wanted to bet on were the environmental variables.

"you sure about this?" Sans asked, once she got within close earshot.

"N-no. I m-mean, yes. In theory, yes." she sighed, readjusting her glasses once again. "The... remains in the coffin, when s-struck by enough of Frisk's Determination could possibly r-reconstruct dead tissue and bring her back to life."

"nice save, but you know that's not what i meant." the skeleton was grinning as usual, but Alphys had keen knowledge in spotting which of his grins were sincere. This was not, at the very least they were not born from amusement.

"I've read the reports." she said, after a brief pause. Surprisingly, her voice remained steady for once. "If even half of it is accurate, we're playing with forces far beyond my old DT experiments. I know you're worried and so am I, but we can't deny this from Frisk."

"i know." he nodded. The familiar blue flame in his eye kept flaring up every now and again, reacting to either the machinery, the upcoming experiment, or just general intense nervousness. "we owe them so much this doesn't even cover interest."

"We have to t-trust them, Sans. It has worked so far."

The skeleton exhaled, a bit of honesty returning to his well-known grin. "what can i say, i just get this feeling in my bones."

"Hold onto that, just in case." Alphys returned the gesture with the hint of a smile.

She walked over to Frisk next, flashing a brief smile to Undyne along the way. They had hardly exchanged more a couple words since everyone arrived, but her mere presence was soothing.

"How are you f-feeling?" she asked, while examining all the wires again.

"Cold." Frisk admitted.

"And how's... Chara?"

The human pondered for a moment. "Eager."

"I guess that's good." she said. Finished with checking everything, she paused and gazed straight into the human's eyes. "This is w-where I'm supposed to tell you this won't hurt a bit." she chuckled just a bit, and saw a weak smile in return.

"But we've never tried something like this before. It might be just a prick, or very painful, I can't tell you for sure. All I ask is that y-you hold on, okay?" she clasped Frisk's hands in a surprisingly tight grip. "I'll do everything I can to make it quick and as painless as possible."

"I know you will." they nodded, smiling a little brighter. "I trust you."

Alphys flashed a toothy, slightly off-kilter grin and returned to the machinery. With just a few more settings to go, they were ready to begin the procedure. She and Sans were running the final calculations, and readying all the necessary monitoring equipment.

"Chin up, Frisk!" Papyrus' voice came as a breath of fresh air. Despite his silence, the skeleton was cheerful as ever. "Sans may be a slob in the house, but he knows the science things well. You are your other head-human are in good hands!"

"Yeah, Alphys told me a lot about how she and Sans used to work together." Undyne grabbed Papyrus by the neck and leaned on him. Out of everyone around, she definitely seemed the most confident. "It'll be like a routine checkup!"

"I am here, my child." Toriel spoke up, her voice significantly more worried. She did not like this place and all, and the unfamiliar machine was not inspiring much confidence either. "Just be brave."

"Stay determined, Frisk." Asgore nodded and offered a kind smile, still keeping a hand ready to pull Toriel back, if needed. He had not yet made up his mind on how to feel about the likely resurrection of their dead child, but it did seem like his ex-wife hadn't fully comprehended it either. "After all you've done, this is just a little inconvenience."

Their encouraging words were followed by an uncomfortable silence, while Sans and Alphys initiated startup procedures. The machine behind them slowly and loudly whirred and rattled, reactivated from its seemingly unending sleep. Even Flowey seemed rather interested now, though they kept looking at Frisk, more than anything else.

"Don't get blown up, okay?" he said finally.

Frisk nodded. Chara didn't even acknowledge the comment.

"Commencing in 3... 2... 1!" Alphys shouted, the warning making everyone take a step back. "Start!"

A pair of lights flashed deep within the 'eyes' of the machine and almost immediately sparks and cracks of electricity filled the area. The coffin rattled in the epicenter, though its lid still held in place for now. Frisk tensed up in anticipation of the pinprick Alphys mentioned earlier.

They did not expect the agony that followed afterwards.

The human's cries echoed across the entire lab, their entire body twitching in the seat. The feeling was indescribable; as if something was tearing chunks off their very being, transferring it through the wires and into the coffin. They could hear Chara's voice at first, but it was soon replaced by a loud ringing from the overwhelming pain.

"Let me go, Dreemurr, right this instant!" Toriel screamed, scrambling from her ex-husband's tight grip.

She was just about clawing her way out of Asgore's grasp, as she was ready to tear Frisk from the machine the very second the first cry erupted from their mouth. Undyne, Papyrus and even Flowey winced, but continued to watch, the former two standing ready in case they were needed. Sans and Alphys were bounding back and forth in the meantime, hastily exchanging data and readings. It was very odd to see the skeleton so active and animated.

Frisk clawed into the seat, their feet repeatedly slamming into the ground. The machine continued to use and transform her determination into the needed form and pump in straight into what would become Chara. While the pain positively dulled everything else by comparison, they could swear Chara's presence in their mind was barely detectable, if there at all. Her SOUL flashed and pulsed in brilliant red, but even that beautiful light seemed to shrink and weaken due to the effects. It was a strange feeling to be alone again, slipping in and out of consciousness. They could barely, but hear a voice nearby.

"-down! Cut them off!"

Alphys barely even had to finish her sentence, before Papyrus and Undyne were on the case. The DT machine was slowly winding down, but kept on needlessly draining Frisk, making a manual and forceful shutdown necessary. She and Papyrus shredded the wires to pieces within just a few seconds, freeing the human from a pain that was nothing short of overpowering. Before Frisk could even ask a single question or so much as acknowledge their surroundings, Sans and Toriel were standing by gently grabbing them when they tried stumbling out of a sit.

"Frisk, Frisk! Please, open your eyes, my child." Toriel was outright whimpering, cradling the human's head like a newborn's. Sans meanwhile quickly checked their vitals, making sure there were no significant anomalies. Other than incredibly drained and in a slightly shock from the sudden onset of pain, they seemed to be doing just fine.

All eyes were quickly diverted as the coffin's top was violently thrown aside. A new, also childlike, but very throaty groan filled the air, just in time with loud rustling and rummaging echoing from the wooden resting place. A hand and arm reached out from the bowels of the coffin, followed by another. Wooden creaks filled the air as the new figure slowly climbed out from the coffin, clad in familiar fashion to that of Frisk. The steam generated by the machine soon cleared up thanks to the high-grade exhaust systems installed, fully revealing the figure they had just helped bring back to life. Frisk, barely conscious but still hanging on, glanced by and found grow to the size of saucers.

Pretty much everyone gazing at the newly emerged human was deathly silent. Toriel held a hand before her mouth, shocked just as much as her husband, who seemed to have chocked up on a breath of air, staring intently. Papyrus' lower jaw starting hanging surprisingly freely, a gesture Undyne couldn't follow, but was still just as surprised, a fleeting noise coming from her throat. Alphys seemed like she had forgotten how to breathe altogether, while for the first time in forever, even Sans's ever-lasting grin seemed to lose every depth behind it and resembled a frown more than anything.

Flowey was laughing.

It started with a snort, but quickly devolved into an unstoppable, guttural laugh that echoed all across the lab. Flowey's entire body was shaking violently from the overpowering laughter that just would not cease. Nobody else dared to say a single word, allowing the flower to laugh freely as possible.

"...what?" Chara asked, thoroughly confused. Her voice was low and raspy, just as one would expect from someone who has not talked with an actual mouth for many-many years. "Why are you..."

She saw Frisk climb out of Toriel's grasp and approach her, but the immediate sensations were overpowering. Legs, arms, a full body, head, fingers, hair, all of these suddenly assaulted her mind of tons and tons of information about just basic movement and such. She took a step forward and caught Frisk in her grasp as they fell forward from exhaustion. The human sighed and embraced Chara as tight as possible, flashing her the kindest smile they could muster.

There was no change in looks from anyone else. Chara felt confused, perhaps even more so than what would have been appropriate for someone who had just returned from the dead. She gazed at Frisk without a word, only to feel, _FEEL_ , color drain from her own face. There were two black splotches on Frisk's shirt as she held onto them. Ignoring the roaring laughter from Flowey, she looked up and saw her reflection on the monitor nearby.

Two endless black voids were gaping in place of eyes, oozing a viscous dark liquid and dripping over a decidedly inhuman mouth. Moments later, Chara's deathly screams filled the halls of Alphys' True Lab.

There were a million ways this could have ended badly.

The odds had not been in their favor.


	2. Waking

**A/N: Welp, it's been quite a while since I had the chance to touch this story again. Unfortunately, the original plot kind of turned out to be an unfocused mess, so I had to try and salvage what I could. The plot is at least some kind of rails now, even if they're only a bit stronger than tinfoil. Then again, the plot isn't the only unstable thing here, is it?**

 **Please send Chara your regards and your favorite chocolate. She needs the support. I promise I will only take one bite, per donation.**

* * *

Hardwood floor still felt rather painful on contact, especially from elevation.

A number of sensations assaulted her senses all at once, twisting into an expected, but unpleasant cacophony. Smell was that of sweat mixing with the otherwise fresh 'home' scent, while touch was nothing, but pain and discomfort thanks to the sturdy construction of her landing spot. Her sight took in only darkness, save for vague outlines thanks to a bit of light shining through the blinders. Taste was acidic and bitter like several times in recent memory, while her hearing was reduced to ringing and general nightly noises, mostly coming from outside. As for whatever magical sixth sense she might have possessed, all she was getting out of that was a powerful need for a glass of cold water to the face and down the throat.

Preferably in that order.

Chara groaned, taking a deep breath before pulling herself away from the floor. The cool surface was welcome, despite the bruise surely waiting for her in the morning. Legs were uncomfortably wobbly as she stood up, but falling back in the bed wasn't going to rid her of the sudden sickness.

Nausea was another familiar phenomenon she had to get used to again. It wasn't exactly the most welcome of returning experiences, but it did well in reminding her that being corporeal was not just all about the perks. The long time spent behind the walls of Frisk's mind left her somewhat ignorant of the more annoying aspects of a living being's biology.

Her eyes steadily adjusted to the dark and she took a couple tentative steps forward, silently praising whoever suggested a private bathroom connected only to Frisk's room. The uneasy spinning in her stomach was already enough of an issue, without having to stumble around the house. She kept going forward with slow, carefully planned steps, always reaching out in the dark to hold onto something. Jumping base-to-base seemed like a sound idea to avoid yet another uncomfortable fall.

Disengaging from the bedside table, Chara held onto the other bed this time around, the mattress immediately giving in to her weight. She tensed when a soft groan reached her ears, but Frisk merely tussled and turned to their other side, mercifully asleep. She really didn't want them to wake up, as their concern would naturally result in Toriel waking up and things quickly would have become a hassle. A smile found its way to her face, but it soon twisted to a frown as more immediate matters continued to alarm her.

The bathroom door was just a few steps away now and she ended up just about leaping through and closing it behind her. Flicking the light switch burned her eyes for a brief moment, but even as she shielded herself with an arm, it was hard not to count this as a necessary evil. Once she could see, her hands were on the sink instead, cold water quickly filling it up. Chara briefly considered her options and chose to do everything at once. She dove in and sunk her face into the water right up to the ears.

Next to the general fact of revival, the cold water swiftly moved up on Chara's list of 'Best Things to Experience'. The icy touch immediately made the heat in her cheeks more bearable, the chill going right down her spine as well. Her arms wobbled, but she held onto the sink, her eyes closed from the wonderful sensation. With that off the list, she opened her mouth and started hungrily drinking from her little pool. The horrifying wet sploshing that now echoed around the room would have scared any monster or human with decency away, but at the moment Chara couldn't care less. Although the tap water tasted of the bad kind of nothing, the temperature made it the most heavenly drink currently available, far and wide.

Chara reached out, scrambling aimlessly until she managed to shut the water off before it could overflow. She stayed within this pool of icy solace for as long as her lungs allowed, before she finally pulled out with a loud gasp. The stay underwater made the first breath of air just as cold, much to her delight. She shook her head, drops of water scattering about from her soaked hair.

"Much better."

As the water drained, she reached up to the cabinet, absentmindedly picking through its contents. Nothing profoundly interesting, just basic things throughout, such as glass of ear picks, cotton swabs and an astonishingly gaudy, somewhat understandably unused toothbrush adorned with LED lights and far too many buttons, courtesy of Alphys. Despite being a paragon of kindness, Frisk did occasionally choose self-preservation.

Once the drain let out a familiar gurgle, she closed the cabinet again, only to face herself in the mirror. She briefly frowned upon finding a trace of black in her sclera, but otherwise her bright red eyes were untainted, just about shimmering in the bathroom light. The area under was already getting dark and baggy; a feature that made her more amused than anything. Some things just wouldn't ever leave her, even after a long dance with death.

"It's me. Chara." she whispered with a slight rasp.

The human sighed and leaned closed, examining the black spot from earlier. It was definitely there, hiding in the very corner of her left eye, but already receding and giving way back to a normal white. She took a deep breath and let it linger in her lungs, the past few days running across her mind once again. She had replayed almost every scene a million times, both awake and in her dreams, but still couldn't let go.

The revival process had been a success, that much everyone agreed upon. Despite the inherent dangers of playing with Determination, the Extractor worked according to hopes, rather than expectations. Backed up by the machine, she left Frisk's mind for the first time since they bonded and with that giant mass of Determination, returned to whatever remained of her body. Alphys and the skeleton had explained how everything turned out, but a lot of it was filtered through the surprise of the state she returned in.

Eyes pitch black and oozing a liquid unknown to any form of science, a jagged grin inches wider than her mouth and an inherent feeling of raw wrongness that surrounded her, like an aura of abyssal malice. The reaction from everyone, including her adoptive family were understandable; she couldn't rightfully fault them for that. Still, those were a few stabs in the heart she could have done without.

A drop of black splashed into the sink and as Chara looked up, she could see that little black spot cast a thin line along the bottom, just enough to spill a single droplet. She groaned and opened the faucet again, letting just a bit of water into her palm, so she could wash it out. While the initial appearance she had upon revival only lasted a short while, it continued to flare up again over the following days, varying in intensity. Sometimes it got just as bad as when she first awoke, and sometimes it was merely an overgrown smile.

As she touched her cheek, she felt at the very visible rosiness that always stuck on her face, but also the line where that demonic grin would keep growing to. Since there was no physical difference, magic remained the next best guess. Their best hope was it being just a temporary annoyance; something that would fade the more she got used to having a body.

Of course, that didn't exactly solve every little problem.

A yawn intruded into the line of thoughts though, reminding her that a pressing problem right now was just to get a good night's sleep. She switched the light off and left the bathroom, somewhat relieved to still find the bedroom shrouded in darkness. Either the blinds were really good, or she hadn't missed too much sleep. Passing by Frisk's bed again, her foot hit the covers kicked off from all the fidgeting. Thick, large blanket, enough for multiple people, much less an already petite one like Frisk.

A faint smile appeared on her face as she picked it up and pulled it over them with one swift move. They mumbled something unintelligible and continued snoozing without halt. They've been sleeping an awful lot since the experiment, but Chara couldn't fault them for it. While their connection was broken by the end, she could tell the process took a lot out of them and for a person already not of the highest constitution, it must have been extremely draining in every sense of the word. Her eyes narrowed a bit, noticing the familiar red glow under the covers. Frisk's SOUL manifesting outside of a battle wasn't exactly a common sight, but she had grown used to it over time. They were, after all, a very lively soul to begin with.

Rather than pay much attention, she returned to her bed, slightly dismayed to find it a little damp from her sweat. Grumbling, she shifted to the other end, having a lot more fight with the covers than Frisk. She didn't recall having arms and legs this long before her death, or generally being any taller at all. Then again, a great many years have passed since her demise and a couple since she bonded with Frisk. It would have been foolish to assume everything would be exactly as she remembered it.

 _'Still, at the very least the dreams are better.'_ She could almost make out Frisk's silhouette in the faintest light seeping through the blinds. _'And I'm in good company.'_

The thought made her grin, as exhaustion finally took its rightful reward.

* * *

Frisk was not a morning person.

Every single day began the exact same way. The first few rays of sunlight would shine through the blinds, positioned exactly the right way so it would all bombard them in the face. They would groan and grumble and whine, keeping their eyes shut for as long as possible in hopes that they could just book a return ticket to dreamland so easily. When that failed, they would toss and turn, blinking into the pillows for as long as they could.

Eventually, Toriel would start calling out for them and when that inevitably failed, she would finish the job personally. Weekends didn't change much about this schedule, except their adoptive mother would grant them an extra hour or two, before commencing. Either way, the boss monster always won out in the end. Then again, that was before they had a roommate to deal with.

Frisk opened their eyes, only to be met by a wide grin and a pair of bright red ones gazing at them.

"Greetings, partner."

Without a single thought behind it, Frisk's hand shot up from under the covers, fingers half-curled into a fist. Their body twisted along with the motion, but as soon as it got close, their forearm got caught in a surprisingly sturdy grip.

"Now, now, don't be rude." she said, sounding quite amused. The smile slowly faded though. Frisk was gasping and breathing rapidly, still forcing their arm despite the glint of recognition perking in their eyes.

"Chara..." they confirmed finally, Tense, yet somewhat frail muscles eased up. Chara released the arm once it unwound and leaned back, giving Frisk just enough space to calm down.

"The eyes?" she asked after a few seconds, lips pursed into a tense mix of a smile and a frown. It was a peculiar gesture, but Frisk quickly learned it was a staple of Chara's repertoire.

"N-no, not this time. Just the mouth." Frisk paused briefly between each word, shaking their head. They covered their eyes from the sun, just taking deep breaths to calm down again.

Chara nodded, fingers trailing along her cheek. As before, there was no sign of her mouth spreading wider than possible; no wound or cut remained behind. That jagged, demonic grin the spread across her cheeks was visible to others, but never left a mark on her. She threw a glance at Frisk again, just watching them rub their face with a soft groan. They didn't really expect an apology and Chara had none to give.

 _'Sorry'_ was not one of her words, after all. That one belonged to Frisk.

Instead, she stepped over to the large oakwood dresser that housed all of their clothes. Undoing the flimsy latch, she reached inside, rummaging through the soft contents. She was a step ahead of the curve already by being dressed, so she could snoop around properly and tossed a couple of clothes over her shoulder, with fairly little regard to how quickly Frisk was getting flustered.

"What are you doing?" they asked, their voice rising in pitch.

The answer was appropriately deadpan. "Helping."

"Chara, stop!" they ordered, despite holding no authority at all. "You can't just dig through my clothes like that!"

"I'm speeding things up a bit." she said, tossing another few things over to the bed, without even really looking. The whiny tone in Frisk's voice did get her to lapse into a half-smirk, especially once it was followed by hasty shuffling. Even if they protested against the indirect dress-up, they still followed up on it. "Besides, I've seen all this stuff a million times through your eyes."

"Well, keep your new eyes to yourself!"

Frisk's voice was muffled by presumably the shirt Chara picked out just a minute ago, fueling her amusement even more. It was the little victories she could never get tired of.

"If it weren't for me, you'd still dress like a clown." she mused, pulling a pair of sweaters off the rack this time around. "But I'm not an unreasonable tyrant, so you'll get to pick which of these-"

She turned around, sweaters dangling from each hand, only to leave the sentence unfinished.

Frisk sat upon the bed, sitting still in complete silence. All their clothes were hastily put on, lending a disheveled look even before ever leaving the bed. Their eyes were closed, mouth forming little strings of words Chara couldn't hear, but could easily guess. She felt a strange twinge in her insides, just as Frisk raised their hand to rest in the air for a brief moment. Chara's lips twitched, but she remained quiet, until Frisk exhaled all the air left in their lungs.

"You still _SAVE_." Chara said. She wanted to shape it into a question, but there was no point in asking what she already knew. The bitterness she slipped in her voice was mostly unintentional.

"Every morning." Frisk nodded, half-opening an eye to look at Chara. She wasn't happy, they didn't need to be any more empathetic than a rock to know that.

"Figures." she muttered.

The amusement over Frisk's wardrobe problems was a thing of the past already, giving place to a steadily rising level of bitterness. Hasty accusations formed in her head and a part of her wanted nothing more than to unload all of them on Frisk. It wouldn't have even mattered, whether they really deserved it or not; the goal was just to make them feel bad. Guilt was a wonderful motivator.

But they weren't just a regular person. This was Frisk and while it was a struggle, she reminded herself, day in and day out, that they were different.

"To protect them from me?" she asked. Softer than the thoughts in her head, but it was still a piercing question. Even more so with the faint dark splotches gather in the corner of her right eye.

Frisk's gaze was a lot sharper than she expected. A wave of their hand dismissed the Determination-fueled input.

"From myself."

They pointed at the blue sweater with the purple stripes, on Chara's right. Always the same one, regardless how unfashionable it proved to be on the Surface. She tossed the sweater over, uncomfortably awkward silence settling in until Frisk's head popped out of the sweater again. They didn't need to look up, to know the pair of red eyes were still waiting for a proper answer.

"It's so tempting to go back and fix things." Frisk said. "A missed hello, a screwed-up test or maybe to fix a ruined date. But I can't. It wouldn't be fair."

They rubbed their elbow, softly pedaling through the air in an awkward way to relieve the tension. Thoughts were faster, harder to hide, especially from Chara. Saying them out loud always made things sound much more concrete and final.

"So I make one every day. One _SAVE_ , in case of emergencies." they continued, having released the sucked-in lower lip. Chara approaching them did little to improve the situation and only left them more flustered, less confident and once more swimming in a sea of uncertainty. "B-but that's it. No going back weeks and months. No resetting. I can't avoid long-term consequences and-"

Frisk's explanation was derailed by Chara's hand; palm against their scalp, while lithe, wayward fingers combed through the generously thick brown hair. They stammered and briefly tried to continue, but every second just made their head sink deeper between the shoulders. Their rapidly reddening cheeks clashed heavily against the chosen sweater.

"I hate it when you do this." Frisk squeaked. "You never let me finish..."

"You're being silly again. Silly partners get headpats." Chara was grinning, though this time without the scary extensions. "Let's eat first and we'll discuss this later."

Toriel's breakfast call from the kitchen drowned out the last few words. Even with several walls in the way, the goat monster could easily summon a volume that simply couldn't be ignored. The beckoning startled Frisk, who quickly jumped to their feet and skedaddled out the door, choosing the scent of breakfast over the increasingly embarrassing touch.

Chara straightened her clothes before turning to follow them. Frisk could have their fun being the amusingly disheveled one, but she did hold her appearance to some standard. The gesture was silly, as no amount of neat clothes would distract anyone if her eyes turned funky again, but with the new body came a sense of vanity she was unfamiliar with. Perhaps it was just pride and wanting to keep a new thing relatively nice and shiny.

The reborn human walked out the door, feigning ignorance over the tiny yellow specks of light left by the _SAVE_ , slowly losing their luster.


End file.
